The best services in hospitality blend with health and wellbeing through the acclaimed Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas property collection, delivering a unique concept in Peru
Peru has a lot to offer either as a leisure destination or for business trips. The growth of its hospitality industry displays the kind of recent developments that have attracted investment from abroad since a few years back, in the same way domestic capital has been injected into the market, resulting in successful ventures.
Among these relatively new developments, Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas stands out as a collection of hotels offering the most attractive destination itinerary in Peru, blending the attributes of a boutique hotel along the amenities provided by the best spas into a context of Peruvian culture and history, resulting in hospitality services well above standards.
“Aranwa” means “legend” in Quechuan, summarizing the feelings that Aranwa hotels can evoke in the most singular way. Each hotel is different and intertwined with its location’s traits, beyond the general concept displayed at each Aranwa property, regarding service and wellbeing.
Aranwa hotels have been recipients of accolades on many occasions, besides being listed among the top ten hotels in South America and the world by Tripadvisor and World Travel Awards users, and by Condé Nast Traveler readers.
The hotel chain belongs to Grupo San Pablo, the largest private healthcare network in Peru, with more than 30 years looking after the people of Peru, led by Dr. José Álvarez Blas.
“Working with a company within the healthcare sector brings a different perspective. Health and wellbeing are taken to the hospitality industry with high standards along with Peruvian and international cuisine,” said Rosana Martínez, CBO for Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas.
Experience and dedication serving the hospitality industry
Besides having built a successful and outstanding career in the hospitality industry, which at times could be defined by “being in the right place at the right time”, Rosana Martínez did not begin her career in the tourism sector, but still within related activities. Martínez earned a Bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting from Ricardo Palma University, in Lima. After working briefly in this trade, a friend invited her to the sales department of PFA (Pension Fund Administrator) and soon after she enrolled in American Airlines, not long after she completed her training in the USA, she decided to work within the tourism industry, but not precisely onboard a plane.
“The service provided in an airline is also applicable to hospitality,” the executive said.
After making this decision, she was hired by the then known as El Pardo hotel (currently belonging to the Doubletree by Hilton chain) as a sales executive, and afterwards she arrived at Antigua Miraflores Hotel, where she took on multiple duties with the property’s opening as a starting point. After Antigua Miraflores, Martínez was hired by the property who would later become Oro Verde hotel, which currently hosts Swissotel Lima, where for more than a decade her career developed into more important positions, from being Sales Director to Sales Manager, until becoming Chief of Sales, taking part in the executive board.
In Oro Verde, Martínez was in charge of serving important foreign delegations for global and regional summits with heads of state, monarchs and also professional sports teams, besides the everyday chores her position entailed. Little did she know this was the setup for an upcoming challenge.
While in a sabbatical between 2007 and 2008 to complete a Master in Business Management at the St. Ignatius of Loyola University, the alumni relations department at the university contacted Martínez to tell her about an opening in a new resort chain for which she was the ideal fit. Aranwa had just opened with properties in Vichayito and in the Sacred Valley when Martínez joined the company in January 2009 to lead the expansion to Cusco, Colca and Paracas.
“In Aranwa not only did I get the chance to contribute with my previous experience, but I have also learned a lot from the different approach held by Grupo San Pablo, led by Dr. José Álvarez Blas and Gabriel Álvarez Huiman, and along my great team we’ve achieved positioning Aranwa as one of the most important hotel chains in the country. I’m in charge of the commercial area for the five properties and five years ago I also took on the Marketing department,” Martínez explained. Besides the aforementioned, she has also completed other courses to update her knowledge in different areas, as required to run and manage the Aranwa operation.
Aranwa Sacred Valley, the cornerstone
Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel & Wellness opened in October 2008. The property is located in the Urubamba Valley -the Incas’ Sacred Valley- near the banks of the Vilcanota River. The land where the hotel was built belonged to the Yaravilca Hacienda, from the colonial period, during the 17th century.
The property hosts 115 rooms, 30 of which are colonial-style suites, furnished according to that time period and enhanced with Cuscan art pieces. The Presidential, del Lago and del Río suites stand out as ideal settings for special occasions.
Aranwa Sacred Valley is also host to the “Unno Spa”, one of the largest in its kind in South America, with a 26,900 sq ft area, recipient of accolades such as the Best Spa in Peru in the 2020 World Spa Awards, being also nominated for 2021. Unno Spa offers 11 treatment rooms, three hydrotherapy pools with different temperature, foot bath, Vichy shower, hyperbaric chamber, Inca sauna and other services that make this a praise-worthy spa.
Concept in expansion
Once into the second decade of the 21st century, Aranwa has expanded, currently offering five destinations, all of them in Peru: Colca, Cusco, Paracas, Sacred Valley and Vichayito.
The concept behind these five properties is the goal to achieve wellness and tranquillity in a place designed to generate a relaxing, comfortable experience
As a collection of hotels, Aranwa encompasses five properties, each with a unique personality in harmony with its surroundings.
“Our hotels share a much appraised Peruvian essence, which is mostly sought after by our foreign guests,” the executive declared.
Aranwa Cusco, standing lovely at the feet of Machu Picchu
Downtown Cusco was the capital of the Incan empire and is currently a must-stop destination in the road to Machu Picchu, and it also hosts Aranwa Cusco, a five-star boutique hotel, considered the third best hotel worldwide and second best in South America in 2020 by Condé Nast Traveler magazine.
The mansion where the hotel was built was designed as historical patrimony of the city of Cusco, and as such it’s considered a museum hotel, besides hosting unique art in its facilities, which offers guests audio tours in English and Spanish.
Among other amenities, rooms are furnished with an intelligent oxygen system, bathrooms with electric underfloor heating, Scottish shower and hydro massage tub.
Into the digital age
Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas finds itself at the forefront of digital technology, relying on the necessary resources to ease online reservations and being supported by a semi-automatic CRM and client support system.
Close to suppliers
The supply chain at Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas is subject to a thorough, detailed process as is every guest’s stay.
The group carries a supplier validation program, ensuring the latter align with the hotel’s standards.
One of Aranwa’s main purposes is to work with suppliers located in the hotels’ surrounding communities, thus creating opportunities in each area, besides hiring and training staff from these zones.
Giving back to the community
Through Grupo San Pablo, Aranwa is involved in benefit and social assistance activities in areas such as education, culture, science and arts for children and individuals in extreme poverty conditions.
And in the Huayllabamba community, in the vicinity of Aranwa Sacred Valley, a medical post was furnished to serve its inhabitants.
Reactivation as a goal
Among the goals set by Aranwa, consolidation of domestic guests’ loyalty is thriving due to the COVID19 restrictions, and since May 2021 the group has been directing efforts to attract foreign guests once again.
Not everything depends upon Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas, but it should be noted that the group obtained the highest certification in health and safety management on behalf of the SGS global firm, specialized in compliance certification.
“International tourism will be reactivating as countries reach a higher vaccination average, generating confidence for travelers to arrive at foreign destinations,” concluded Rosana Martínez, CBO for Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas.
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